stories of humans attempting to fly are almost as old as civilization. About 3400 years ago, according to Greek legend, Daedalus fashioned wings of feathers and wax so he and his son Icarus could fly from prison on Crete to safety in Sicily. When Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and he fell to his death.

While this was a cautionary fable, there were undoubtedly other attempts to take to the sky. Some certainly ended as spectacular—and fatal—failures; others left the would-be aviators with injuries and ruffled dignity to testify to their imperfect understanding and inadequate engineering. Regardless, all reflected a stubborn refusal to accept the obvious truth that “man will never fly.”

Among those who refused was Abbas Qasim ibn Firnas.

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200806/flights.of.fancy.on.manmade.wings.htm